Watchdog claims out-of-hours GP care 'diabolical'

The care provided by GPs outside of normal hours in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan is ‘diabolical’ according to a patient watchdog.

The comments are based on the waiting times of patients to be assessed over the phone and seen by medical staff. It also said that this has resulted in an increased burden on the local A&E.

The Cardiff and Vale board serves a population of 472,000 and receives around 9,000 to 11,000 calls to the out-of-hours service each month. Its targets are to answer all cases with 30 minutes and all routine calls within two hours.

The community health council’s chief officer Stephen Allen said that these basics were not even happening.

Sue Morgan, a senior manager for Cardiff and Vale’s care board, said a full service review and improvements were under way. She explained the ‘significant increase in demand’ for GP out-of-hours service over the last 18 months, with a 31% year-on-year increase over the winter. She also highlighted that service did meet its target of identifying all immediate life-threatening conditions within five minutes every month since May 2013.

Share this page

Anonymous

Tuesday 7th October 2014 @ 13:12

While Ms. Sue Morgan has explained the 'significant increase in demand for GP out-of-hours services', she has NOT indicated the increase in the number of GPs year-on-year. It is hoped that this also has increased; but if it has most probably NOT, IT WILL NO DOUBT RESULT IN ADDITIONAL BURDEN ON THE A&E. It is gratifying to see the Service is meeting the target of immediate life-threatening situations within five minutes.

Post your comment

Only registered users can comment. Fill in your e-mail address for quick registration.

Your email address:

Your comment will be checked by a Healthcare Today moderator before it is published on the site.